Collapsible and adjustable clothes rack



Aug. 23, B949. D. w. WOLCOTT 2,479,887

COLLAPSIBLE AND ADJUSTABLE CLOTHES RACK Filed Feb. 5, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet l .w' all 1 IN VEN TOR. DAVID W. WO LCOTT ATTORNEY El NI I d1] Aug 23, 1949 D. W. WOLCQTT 2,479,887

COLLAPSIBLE AND ADJUSTABLE CLOTHES RACK Filed Feb. 3, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. DAVID W. WOLCOTT ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 23 1949 .QQLLAPSIBLE AND ADJUSII ABIJElCLOEHES RACK .D i wfiwolcdtt, Pnrtlandfixea Application February 3, 1947,?Seria1fNo. 726,-020

1 .Qlaim. (Clin -1,178.)

T is nven n relat s n eneral to clothes racks adapt d vtoahest od11p on :the floor'for :th znurpose o ho d n clothes and the like while- .thes a dry n .Mqre spe fically th s invention relates to f-oldable clothes racks which can be folded up and put out of the way when not in use.

An object of this invention is to provide a foldable clothes rack which can be set up at any desired height from the floor.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved clothes rack which can be set up, adjusted as to height, or folded up and set out of the way, with the least expenditure of time and effort.

An additional object is to provide an improved foldable and adjustable clothes rack which will be very simple and inexpensive to manufacture and which can be made almost entirely out of wood, thus requiring only a minimum amount of metal in its construction.

The manner in which these objects and advantages are obtained in my improved clothes rack will be apparent from the following brief description in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of my improved clothes rack set up and ready for use;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 1, the broken lines indicating the rack adjusted to a different height;

Fig. 4 illustrates the rack in folded position; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailed drawing of the securing loop which acts to hold the rack in any adjustable set up position.

My clothes rack includes a transversely-extending main block Ill on the top surface of which a plurality of clothes drier arms II are pivotally mounted. Preferably these arms II are pivotally secured to the main block Ill by means of screws I2 with suitable washers or rings interposed between the screw heads and the upper faces of the arms II to prevent wearing of the wooden surfaces of the arms by the screw heads. The main block I is pivotally supported between a pair of main legs I3. These main legs are connected near the bottom by a transverse wooden rod I I and near the center by a similar rod I5. A second, shorter and supplemental pair of legs I6 are pivotally mounted near their top ends on the center rod I and thus pivotally connected with the main legs I3. A wooden rod I'I con- .nects the second 'pair of legs 15 near their bottom ends.

,A central strut member I 8, which isgpreferably dongerithan the arms -I.Il;,1has :one .end -rigidly;s e cured to the top surface of the main block II], as clearly shown in Fig. l. A central locking leg I9, pivotally mounted on the center rod I5, has a rounded upper end 20 adapted for slidable engagement with the bottom face of the central strut member I8. The lower end of the locking leg- I9 is secured on the bottom rod I I.

A metal loop 2|, pivotally carried in the top end of the locking leg I9, extends around the central strut member I8. A plurality of notches 22 are out in the central strut member I8, each of which is adapted to engage the loop 2|, and each of which thus is capable of cooperating with the loop 2I and the associated members for the purpose of holding the drier at different heights.

As will be apparent from Fig. 3, the height of the central strut member I8 from the floor when the drier is set up, will depend upon the location of the particular notch with which the loop 2| is permitted to become engaged, the further the distance of the notch from the main block III the lower will be the height of the central strut member l8. Thus by providing a number of notches in the central strut member I8 the clothes drier can be set up at a number of different heights. The clothes drier arms II will of course always be at the same height from the floor as the central strut member [8 and will always lie in a horizontal plane when the clothes drier is set up.

The loop 2I, pivotally carried by the lockin leg I9, is easily and preferably made from a single piece of heavy wire bent into the shape of a more or less rectangular loop, as illustrated in Fig. 5. One end of this piece of Wire, extending down one side of the loop, is flattened as indicated at 23 and a hole is punched in the flattened portion. Through this hole the other end of the wire is inserted after the other end has been passed through the supporting hole in the le I9. Then the latter mentioned end of the wire, after being passed through the hole in the flattened portion 23, is peened or broadened, as indicated at 24 in Fig. 5, to prevent the loop from opening up.

When the clothes drier is to be folded up and set out of the way all that is required is to permit the loop 2I to become disengaged from its particular notch and permitted to slide along the central strut member I8 until the drier is in the completely folded position illustrated in Fig. 4.

The setting up of the drier is as equally simple and is easily accomplished by taking hold of the end of the central strut member l8 and lifting the drier so that the loop 2| will slide inwardly on the central strut member until it engages one of the notches 22.

As indicated, the entire drier, with the exception of the screws used for attaching the members to the main block and with the exception of the wire loop f2! can be and preferably is made out of wood.:

I claim:

An adjustable foldable clothes drier of the character described comprising a main block, drier arms pivotally attached to said main block, a pair of legs hinged to said main block at the ends of said block respectively, a rod connecting said legs approximately at their longitudinal center points, a second pair of legs, the upper ends of said second pair of legs pivotally mounted on said rod, a bar connecting said second pair of legs near their bottom ends, a central strut member' rigidly secured to said main block and extending in the same plane with said drier arms, a central locking leg pivoted at its center on said rod and having its bottom end secured on said REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record. in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 417,627 Brower Dec. 17, 1889 713,308 Jolliffe Nov. 11, 1902 7 911,160 'Ringblom' Feb. 2, 1909 1,583,695 Lane May 4, 1926 1,982,205 1934 Doman Nov. 27, 

